Mary Kay Learns "What Women Want" - The Final Chapter

06-17-2009 2:42 PM

We've reached the final piece of the puzzle in "10 Things Women Want Now", and it is the ONE THING that everyone (and I do mean EVERYONE!) needs to pay attention to right now. That thing is TRUST. Whether you're an individual, a small business, a multi-billion-dollar global corporation, a service provider, a charity, a government organization, you name it, if you're not focusing on BUILDING TRUST with the women who interact with you, you will not be successful in these times.

Women value the intimacy and trust they have with their closest friends, their husbands and boyfriends and their family members. They are somewhat skeptical, however, when it comes to trusting the companies and people they do business with. Their trust must be earned. The best way to gain that trust is by being open and honest with her in everything you do. If you're not, you can bet she can "smell" it a mile away. That 'women's intuition' kicks in and once your intentions appear questionable, it can be really difficult to regain her attention, let alone earn her trust. And with so many choices today of where to take her business, you can bet she will take it somewhere that does provide her with the level of confidence and trust that she's seeking.

I think this is one of those areas that's not "new" as far as women seeking out people and companies they trust, it's just a matter of the degree of importance. There have been so many instances of things in society over the past 10 years that have really shaken women's trust in institutions and the people behind them. That's what has brought us to this place we are today, where women just will not do business with people and companies that they don't trust.

Mary Kay Ash knew in 1963 when she began our company that the success of our business would be built around the relationships of the people. That is evident in her decision to use The Golden Rule as the founding principle of our business, and she was passionate in instilling that belief within each of us. "Treat everyone you meet as if they are wearing a sign around their neck that says 'Make me feel important'" is the approach she taught. She also was very aware of the fact that a woman who has a bad experience with a company will tell many other people about it. Likewise, a woman who has a good relationship with a brand and trusts the people that represent the brand will also tell many others about it. (And of importance to note is that "the people" are one of the most important parts of developing and keeping that trust.)

This reminded me of a conversation I had with my husband just last night on this topic. He was telling me about his day, and that he had gone to lunch with one of his horse-trainer buddies at the sub shop (the brand shall remain nameless, although several of my friends will know of whom I speak because I did share my experience with them). I reminded him that I have not stepped foot into one of their shops for almost one year now, and I used to visit at least once a week, because of the last experience I had with one of "their people". I no longer trust the brand because of the actions of one of the employees who was serving me, so I have taken my business elsewhere. (I might have given them a second chance, except that after my experience I wrote a personal letter to the Chief Marketing Officer of the company, as I thought he'd want to know -- I certainly would have wanted to know if a Mary Kay customer had an experience like I had. Well, let's just say that the company business philosophy must be radically different from the Mary Kay philosophy that I'm accustomed to, because he never even responded to my letter. That action, or inaction, definitely said to me that they did not value my business, so I chose to not give it to them. I have changed doctors, switched grocery stores, and found new hairstylists all for similar reasons.

There are also many companies that I LOVE doing business with, primarily because of the people involved. They are genuine and seem to really care about my satisfaction and want to keep my business. I TRUST THEM, BECAUSE THEY HAVE EARNED IT.

Comments

Thank you so much for sharing this information. Individuals who have a great experience with a business will want to return and will forward the great experience on to friends and family. This helps build great business relationships and happy customers. Customers turn into friends and long term friendships.

Once again Thank You.

Trent
wrote
re: Mary Kay Learns "What Women Want" - The Final Chapter

on 06-18-2009 5:47 PM

Great post. Great subject. Talking about good and bad experiences and the speed that they move... this is the third part of the “trust” conversation alongside earned trust and broken trust. It's "transferred" trust. When someone you personally trust gets between you and an unknown entity (person, company, product, whatever) they can actually transfer the trust they have established with that brand, to you. It is a powerful act and, at times risky. If I take you into a relationship where trust has been earned over time and you betray that trust, I have just poisoned the well that it took years to dig. Not smart.

My guess is that the nameless sub shop’s CMO is too busy trying to figure out where to dig new wells because the old ones are not valued and keep getting poisoned by the employees. You have, at MK, one of the most trusted brands in the world. Nice work.

Hi Rhonda, I had dinner with you at Carol Anton's Autumn Advance that you came to last fall. I just stumbled on to these Reflections...I love it! It is exactly right on. I just wish everyone would read these posts. I am going to include it in my newsletter this month. Love it!!

What a pleasant surprise! I worked at Corporate for about 9 years, had to leave due to health problems, and have been a consultant (sort of, ha!) for the last 12 years. I JUST decided to get serious about a Mary Kay Career and registered for Seminar for the first time since I worked so many of them as an employee in Director's Information. I decided to check the website Seminar Sales stuff for a new Mary Kay Notebook to take to Seminar with me and noticed the Reflections tag. What a treasure! And what timing! My thanks to you and our great company for anticipating the needs of our consultants and customers. I was blessed to get to work directly with Mary Kay and Jerri Beardsley on the Director Suit program, and I am proud to say, it is almost like reading "Mary Kay" to read your articles. I am so looking forward to Seminar now, and hope to get to see you.

LaNette Young

ps: I worked for Faye Hower at General Electric before MK....another great lady!

I need to make this site a daily check. It's been a while since I visited. Wow! Thanks Rhonda!

Funny enough I just flipped my Mary Kay Words of Wisdom to July 2 and read "Your motivation for maintaining a solid relationship with your customers is powerful: It costs five times as much to attract a new customer as it does to maintain an established one." I'd say trust is a major factor in maintaining that relationship. There are too many choices out there so we need to stand out wherever we can.

Happy New Year everybody! God bless us all as we head into a new Seminar year!

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Rhonda Shasteen

Chief Marketing Officer (retired) at Mary Kay Inc.

At Mary Kay for more than 25 years, and worked closely with Mary Kay Ash for 10.

Raised in Dallas, Texas. Married, 2 grown children.

At work, I enjoy helping women develop as leaders; creating solutions to complex problems; learning new things. At home, I enjoy the cows, horses and garden; fresh country air and time with my husband; learning new things and discovering my authentic self.

With more time, I would: sew (again); exercise (more); run for political office.